Mitzvah Day was started by a Jewish lady called Laura Marks in 2005. Laura wanted to bring all the different faiths in the UK together for one day – to do something good for their communities. This day of social action, takes place on and around November 20 each year.
The word Mitzvah is a Hebrew word and in Judaism it is taken to mean a good deed done out of religious duty. This means that people who are Jewish do-good things on this day because they believe it’s what God would want them to do – to be kind and loving.
On Mitzvah Day each year, Jewish community groups and individuals undertake a range of volunteer projects for those in need in their local community. Organizations register with Mitzvah Day, which in turn helps match volunteers with local projects. NWSS members support local initiatives such a collecting food for the Elmbridge Food Bank throughout the year. Mitzvah Day mirrors NWSS’s values and it is an initiative that we usually embrace annually.
Volunteers from North West Surrey Synagogue (NWSS) collected 20 trollies of food from Waitrose & Morrisons in Weybridge and £150 for Runnymede Food bank on Mitzvah Day this year (2023).
In 2022, an NWSS member organised a collection at Brookland’s Tesco. Volunteers worked in shifts to encourage shoppers to donate food. The outcome was four large trolleys, full to the brim with food items, for Elmbridge Food Bank.
